How to Eat More Protein: Simple Tips & Best Foods
For the last year or so, Brittany has made a point of going to the gym and working out more. Trevor has not (although he used to back in the day). If you find yourself going to the gym and getting serious about working out, you’ll inevitably run into the protein conundrum. Turns out you need a lot of protein for optimal muscle growth and repair.
If your personal trainer is always on your case (rightfully so) asking how much protein you’re getting (not enough, most likely) then this post is for you.
But First — How Much Protein Do You Need Per Day?
The best way to figure that out is to use a protein calculator and enter your information. You’ll get a few different ranges and a minimum recommendation. If you’re working out and want to gain muscle mass, you won’t want to aim for the minimum. Look at the two ranges provided and take an average.
If you talk to a gym bro, they’ll tell you that the easy way to remember how much protein you should get is 1g of protein per pound of body weight. So if you weigh 150lbs, you should aim for 150g of protein.
🗒️ Mediocre Note: The above 1g of protein per pound of body weight is an oversimplification. Protein intake should ideally be based on lean body mass rather than total body weight, but most people don’t know their lean body mass. Using total body weight simplifies things and makes it easy to remember.
Shower Thought: Why Isn’t There a Magical Protein Pill?
One day we thought, “Why can’t we just take a pill? It’d be so much easier.” Followed immediately by, “Oh, if I need 150g of protein, that’d be many, many, MANY pills.”
For most other supplements (lets say, Vitamin D for example) you only need a small amount (e.g. 10-20mcg) per day, so of course it can fit into a tiny pill.
If you can somehow develop a pill that defies physics, you’ll be rich. (Someone please make it happen. 😆)
You need to take 6 of these to get ONE serving of protein which is 3g. Not worth.
How to Stay Consistent & Hit You Protein Goals
So you have a goal. Now you have to meet it so you can see the gains! 💪
Well, it’s going to be hard. You’ll first want to track how much protein you eat in a day for a week or so to see how much you’re eating regularly. You’re probably waaaaay under what your goal is. That’s okay. You’ll get there.
Steal our tips:
Don’t change your diet overnight. It won’t be sustainable. Make some small swaps (e.g. regular yogurt for greek yogurt).
Create a new habit. Start with one thing, not all of the things. Maybe you have a protein coffee in the morning. Maybe you consistently make a protein shake when you get home from the gym. Then do it over and over and over until it becomes routine and you don’t have to think about it anymore. Then you can look at creating another habit.
Find food and recipes that you enjoy. If you don’t like cottage cheese, you don’t have to start eating cottage cheese to get your protein in. Discover what you like.
Switch it up to keep it interesting. Variety is important so you don’t get bored and fall off the bandwagon. Don’t force yourself to eat chicken every day for supper. It’ll get boring real fast.
Plan ahead. If you don’t have any high-protein foods ready to go, it’s easy to fall back on foods that are convenient (and probably less protein-dense). Meal prepping helps!
Track your protein, but don’t obsess. Progress is better than perfection. You also want to maintain a healthy relationship with food and obsessing over numbers is not healthy.
Protein Shortcuts: Convenient Protein At a Price 💰
It can be hard to eat enough protein in a day, but there are products out there that make it easier. Here’s a few!
Protein Powder ✨
This is the easiest way to get some extra protein in. Whey isolate has been the most popular form of protein powder for decades now. It’s protein extracted from the whey (as opposed to the curd) of curdled milk. Because of this, it’s generally okay for people (like Trevor) who’s tummies don’t agree with milk anymore. The downside is that it has that distinct whey isolate flavor that is tough to hide.
Protein powder can be simply used in a shaker with water or blended into a smoothie with other ingredients (e.g. milk, fruit, etc.) You can also add it to plain Greek yogurt, pancake mix, energy bites, muffins, and more. It’s also great in baked oats — just skip the vanilla extract and add vanilla protein powder instead.
If you want something that’s different from a protein shake, Brittany really loves Believe’s protein refreshers. It shakes up nicely with just cold water and tastes like juice.
Pre-Made Protein Milkshakes 🥛
This is a thing that has recently become super popular, especially here in Canada. (It’s impossible to find the Fairlife chocolate protein shakes at Costco.) We’ll be honest, from our perspective Fairlife products are black magic.
How? How are you adding more protein to milk without adding protein powder? According to this Reddit comment and this page on Fairlife the magic comes from a filtration process that pushes out the lactose, sugar, and water, and leaves behind the larger protein molecules, thus concentrating the protein (and has the fun side effect of being lactose free).
We also assume that this is why there are some versions of this mystery milk that don’t need to be refrigerated. What’s in there? 🤷
Protein Coffee ☕
Love coffee? Need to get your protein in during the morning? Enter: protein coffee.
We’ve tried brüst and like it (well, Trevor isn’t big on it, but he doesn’t like coffee so he doesn’t count), but there are a lot of other protein coffee products on the market as well. You can also make protein coffee at home, but this is a nice shortcut if you have the cash to spend.
Protein Bars 🍫
Not all protein bars are made equal. Some are really… gross. Lots are chalky. Some are too fake tasting. (Trevor says this is whey isolate.) And most of them are chocolate flavored (which can get old real fast).
🙂↕️ Mediocre Tip: Buy them in singles so you can taste it before you commit to buying a box of them.
Trevor can vouch for Pure Protein and Snickers Protein being tasty. Brittany doesn’t have a favorite right now — we’ll update this post when she finds one!
Protein Essentials: Foods High in Protein 💪
Supplements and products marketed as high in protein can get you pretty far, but they’re also expensive vs buying raw ingredients that are high in protein. Look at incorporating the food below into your diet. To help you get inspired, we’ve added some recipes that we love!
Eggs 🍳
Eggs are a gym-staple for a reason. The egg whites are high in protein, and the yolks are a good source of healthy fats (although that’s a story for another time). They are also very easy and quick to cook and to add to your diet. Keep boiled eggs in the fridge as a quick snack. Scramble eggs for breakfast. Put a nice fried egg on your breakfast sandwich. So many possibilities!
Meat 🥩🍗
The easiest way to get more protein in you is to eat meat. Chicken breast is the OG. Per 100 grams, it beats out chicken thighs and beef for highest protein content. It also has the upside of being incredibly low in fat which is good for your heart. The downside is that eating chicken breast multiple times a day for many, many, many days in a row gets very old (ask Trevor how he knows that).
So instead of eating just chicken breast, try swapping out other meats like chicken thighs and beef. Tuna is also a good source of protein and can fit into a pescatarian diet.
Beans & Lentils
If you don’t eat meat, then the next best thing would be to up the amount of beans and lentils you are consuming. These are both extremely high in protein (and fibre) and are readily available year round. If you’re feeling crazy, and your diet supports it, you can also include beans and lentils with your meat.
Greek Yogurt, Cottage Cheese, Skyr
The common theme with these three is that they are high in protein. The difference between them is texture. If you don’t like the texture of cottage cheese (which is understandable), then give Greek yogurt or Skyr a try. If you’ve never heard of Skyr, think of it as the Icelandic version of Greek yogurt. It’s thick and high in protein. It also tastes awful if there’s no flavouring in it, so we recommend getting a vanilla or berry flavour. Eat Skyr, feel like a Viking.
Skyr with granola and berries (A+ breakfast)
🧑🍳 Mediocre Tip: You can also put cottage cheese in a food processor or blender to get rid of the lumps if they give you the ick.
Don’t be a macro obsessed gym bro! With our tips you can get your protein and not eat bland food!
What are your favorite high protein recipes? Let us know in the comments below.